YouTube Video Identification Tool

YouTube has announced the launch of Video Identification, a beta version of their content identification tool. According to the release, Video Identification will help copyright owners to “more easily identify their content and manage how it is made available on YouTube”.

The development of this tool began after copyright law suits were initiated by the likes of Viacom, Inc. Video Identification will make copyright owners very happy, but it the goes a step further. Instead of just helping YouTube rid it’s popular site of illegal content, copyright owners will have the additional option of ” choosing what they want done with their videos: whether to block, promote, or even—if a copyright holder chooses to license their content to appear on the site—monetize their videos”.

Smiles all around, except for the folks at Public Knowledge, who are of the opinion that Video Identification will “restrict the free flow of information while increasing the control content companies have over otherwise lawful uses of material”. I agree with this assessment, and if you understand how the system is designed to function, I think you’ll do the same.

Video Identification is beta software, and it is still too early to tell what kind of impact it will have on the popularity of YouTube. But bear in mind that YouTube became very popular because it provided - and still does - a service that was easy and fun to use. If Video Identification begins to hinder the user experience, I think people will just look for another service, and YouTube’s popularity will take a hit.